Tuesday, February 27, 2007

In the wee hours of the morning Thursday...some of us will be heading off to Colonial Williamsburg for our annual March trek. CKCSC,USA holds a cavalier Specialty there every year and it has always been one of our favorite shows. Winter is getting old here and it's Spring down there!! Whoo hoo!

Packed in my busy basket are a few treats to keep me busy. First in the basket is this beautiful Merlin Tree Spindle. It was no easy feat getting this spindle from Dave....trust me! This is one of his prototypes for his upcoming new line of spindles. Not only is it beautiful, but it spins forever! When he sells them, they will have a nicer hook and will be a bit more finished.......but this spindle spoke to me at Spa and after much wooing and begging, Dave sent it home with me :-). Shhh...don't let him know I told you....

Up next are the 3 lace projects I am working on. I came home so full of ideas from Spa, that I immediately cast on 2 new projects....yikes! This green is Judy's soft merino/silk 2ply for the Wool Peddler shawl from Folk Shawls. I absolutely adore these colors and the soft squishy yarn was just too yummy to pass up.Next.....the Cracklin' Rosie swallowtail shawl, which is moving right along and quickly reminded me why I love zephyr. Silky smooth and oh so soft! Definitely not a sipping on wine project thou....at least not without life lines...

And to close the lace projects....Hypotenuse. I just love this knit! The silky yarn is one of my all time new favorites and Anne's pattern is the best. I love the way that it moves along....interesting and easy all at the same time. This and the wool peddler shawl will be my car knitting projects.....mindless knitting, but oh so nice!

The last little project tucked away in this great little basket that I picked up this weekend at Patternworks, is this ultra soft merino/mohair blend of yarn that I purchased at Spa from Friends Folly Farm.

My 15 year old daughter, borrows my favorite red mittens every night when she feeds the bunnies, so I thought it was time to make her a pair of her very own. She thinks the colors are pretty cool....whew!

And finally.......the last little thing in my basket is this "Bottle O Spirits", that I spotted today in the market. Now how perfect is this wine for a basket of goodies that is heading out for a dog show? A lovely bottle of "Watchdog White" Dog Tail wine....haha! I have no clue how it tastes and for all I know it could be awful, but however could I pass this by....LOL

After a handling class tonight and a bath tomorrow, Little Miss Cleo will be as ready as she ever will be for her debut in CKCSC this weekend.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Some of you may remember this post about the third lendrum that had made it's way to my home. (yes you read that right...the third one).....and yet, here we are again looking at the 4th folding lendrum.

As much as I loved the folding lendrum in the above link, somehow the temptation of the walnut combined with the wooly winder was just too overwhelming to pass by....so the lovely little maple wheel is now much loved in it's new home and this beautiful walnut lendrum is settling in nicely here in my home. I have to admit, I am LOVING this wooly wonder! (you didn't think I kept all of those lendrums now do you?...that would be over the top sickness..)

Just what is it about Spinning Wheels that attracts us...tempts us? I can remember saying years ago to the woman who corrupted me, "Why the heck do you need more than one spinning wheel?". Silly girl I was back then...Over the years, many many wheels have come to play for a little while and then found their way into new homes, but how could I part with the beautiful Cherry Lendrum Production wheel that I lovingly finished myself, or the little Robin with it's beautiful spalted maple wheel...and Yeeesss ladies, this is the year that Norm is going to come knocking on my door! Seven long years I have waited for this wheel that he is making for me.

So, you would think that would be more than enough, wouldn't you? So did I, until I sat down behind the wheel of this baby. Now mind you, this wheel almost came to live here, but that is a sad story for another time perhaps. Marcy being the generous Temptress that she is, allowed a few of us to play house with her incredible wheel made by Alden Amos and all I can say is ..."Oh My"!I live in a fairly big old farm house........don't you think every room should have it's own wheel?

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Do you remember the book, Color Me Beautiful? I remember going to a few of those home parties back when I was much younger, where they tell you what season you are and what colors you look best in. I also remember them saying that you are naturally attracted to that palette and over the years, I have found that pretty much to be true.

So, in looking at some of the lace weight yarn I had left over from the weekend, I chose this soft green and purple colorway to knit a new Swallowtail Shawl. I had tucked 2 skeins away for myself, but a few inches into the shawl, I was just not feelin' the love, if you know what I mean. Normally I am a green person, but this green as I moved along was a much cooler palatte than I usually like.....much more of a Summer colorway.

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am so not a pink kind of girl,which makes sense given that I have been told that I am an Autumn, but somehow this pink and golden yarn had caught my attention, even back when I dyed it a few months ago, so I thought that I would give it a try. Wow....I LOVE it! The warm colors of the gold mixed with the soft rose colors are working for me....who would have thought that I would actually like pink?

Speaking of pink....there were some lovely pink colorways floating around at Spa this weekend. Juno scooped up a stunning grafton fiber batt in this pretty pink and gray colorway. I had some sockyarn dyed up in almost the exact same shades and although I don't think think that I can wear that color well, if it's on my feet, who cares, right? I think I may just have to make some more....heck, I may even order this roving from Grafton too ..... I'm feeling adventurous.

Speaking of adventurous....go read Carole's description of our Friday night last weekend. I guess that there are varying degrees of what one calls adventurous. I think I will stick to being adventurous in colorways....tee hee.

I will be getting yarn back up on the sidebar gradually. I will post what I have later today. New sock yarn and roving in a few weeks....I am taking a little dyeing break to do some knitting :-)

Monday, February 19, 2007

Home again, home again. What a fabulous time I had at this year's NETA Spa! So many things to write about, but for some things, the right words can not be found .... the camaraderie, the friendship and Friday night in the bar. It was all good! Although, maybe some parts of Friday night may have had a few of us saying...."What the Hull??"

It was nice to see old friends and just as nice were the new people I met, who I now call friend.......and the fiber <sigh>....the fiber was as wonderful as it always is at this event.

I came home with a little fiber, a few treats that I will share later in the week and lots of ideas floating around in my head. One thing I did realize was that I need to knit a few samples with my hand dyed yarns, so now I have a good excuse to play with some of it :-)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

This post was to have gone up earlier today, but it seems that typepad was having some problems, so here we are a day late and a dollar short, but still here all the same...LOL

My Wednesday Walks (and all the days in between) have been walks on the treadmill lately due to wintery conditions. I am not much of a daytime TV watcher, but I have timed my walks so that I watch Martha Stewart's show when I am on the treadmill.

Anyone who knows me knows I am not much of a domestic goddess anymore.....I know, hard to believe... however there was a time in my young married life, when my house was spotless and I hand smocked all of my daughter's dresses. but then dogs and life happened, and the rest is history. :-)

Anyhoo...........earlier in the week, I saw Martha and her guest making these cute little conversation type mini cakes. I thought hmmmm.........perhaps I will surprise Ken and the girls with these little cakes for Valentine's dessert.

Well... here I am on Valentine's Day with kids and husband home due to the blizzard we are having...... dogs not happy about sinking up to their necks in snow and me up to my elbows with yarn and dyeing. It surely did not make for the conducive domestic moment that I had envisioned while on my treadmill a week earlier. You see the sad results of my efforts in the picture above...tee hee.

I guess I will skip these fancy schmancy recipes that never seem to work for me and stick to my old basics. I have no clue what happened to this frosting recipe other than it was a huge waste of 3 sticks of butter and it didn't taste very good.....oy vey! (the red velvet cake WAS yummy though)

I hope your "Love Day", as my daughter Ashley refers to it was a good one!

Friday, February 09, 2007

Yesterday, a fellow fiber friend stopped over for a visit, when I was in the middle of skeining up some yarn on my niddy noddy. She was stunned that the hundreds of yards of yarn I have been winding has been all done on my old niddy noddy.

Being the good hearted friend that she is, lo and behold when I opened my door this morning, this is what greeted me. Not only is it going to be soooooooo much easier on the wrist, but it is pretty to look at too! Thanks Sue!

Not much knitting happening here at least for the next few weeks. My days right now are pretty full winding skeins and dyeing them up and my real job.

Speaking of my real job, yesterday was such a disappointing day for me in that world. It's never a welcoming realization to know that you are being taken advantage of, is it? Well that realization hit me right upside the head this week. Fortunately I like my job, so I will plug on......but maybe with a little less enthusiasm.

Healing~
Many people have asked how Brian is recooperating after his mountain experience. Yesterday the kids stopped by for a visit and Brian is doing much better. He is still struggling with some very painful frostbite on his back, but his hands are doing much better. His recovery is going to take some time, but it hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for outside wilderness recreation.....Yesterdays visit was first and foremost to visit and thank some of the local guys who participated first hand in his rescue. However, he also picked up a new subzero sleeping bag, some new Koflax winter hiking boots and various other items. While I don't think he will be headed up to the top of the mountains this winter, he is planning ahead for when he can.....and with the guidance of the rescue people, he will be even better prepared for those hikes.

Hmmmm.......I guess it is like climbing back on that horse after you were tossed off.....

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Whew.....the Red Socks are finished! I have to say that as much as I like the way they came out, they were truly a chore to knit. A true labor of love for the youngish man they are gifted to. Stockinette on size 0's .....ey yi yi:-)

Having finished up these socks, I am moving on to the next pair of socks that has been lanquishing in my basket. These are the New England Socks from Knitting on the Road. I am going to alternate working on these socks and Hypotenuse. If you are on the fence about knitting Hypotenuse....let me help push you off. It is a enjoyable easy knit!

As it is just too darn cold for a long outdoor walk, I will leave you with these silly dog pictures as I hop onto my treadmill. Silly Maggie, she thinks she's a Cavalier!